UConn - Maryland - game thoughts

[Exit 4]

I don't know if anyone wants to rehash some of the x and o's, but I thought I would create a thread that is more about the game and less about PP and GDL.

Some observations in no particular order:

UConn Offense:
-Philips had a crazy good game. Demonstrated all kinds of skill. Davis, Fox and Green looked good too. McQuillan had a few catches which was nice too see.
-the O-line is appreciably better with Kevin Friend and when any second man on the depth chart comes in at any position there is an immediate fall off in play. Our prospects for a three win season ride on Kevin Friend.
-I liked some of the plays designed to get Foxx involved with handoffs and underneath passes. Those plays seemed to disappear after about midway thru the second qtr.
-Pass protection by the backfield, when kept in, did seem to give Whitmer more time.
-I really don't understand why Hypolite, DeLarenzo and Matt Walsh don't get at least 5 to 10 hand offs a game. I particularly would like to see Walsh touch the ball some or get a pass in the flat.
-The delay of game calls are inexcusable. It makes you think GDL, Weist and PP are arguing over the play choice.

Maryland:
-Maryland is on the upswing with a ton of potential. I think there is a good chance this team finishes in the top 25 by year end. Their offense is a true three headed monster with Brown, Diggs and that RB. If they didn't turn the ball over three times and lay a few eggs letting drives stall out, they would have really crushed us.
-When Edsall was up by two touchdowns early in Q4 it seemed like he let off the gas intentionally.
-Read option: I must have been faked out by Brown's hand offs at least 5 times last night. From afar, his fake handoffs are darn convincing. You could see he felt in complete control with those elements.

UConn Defense:
-We were incredibly lucky a few times when Maryland didn't fully take advantage of our confusion on the field. It seemed like at least 5 times last night the D was caught in total panic mode lining up.
-No idea where our pass rush has gone. Towson has a couple lineman headed to the NFL, no idea where Maryland grades out. Given the explosiveness of Brown, Diggs and their RB, I understand why we were reluctant to blitz.
-Ashiru - for the moment - doesn't appear to be a drop off over the starting three.
-The corners performed pretty good overall given the test Maryland had to offer.

UConn Special Teams:
-It makes zero sense to me to have your co-top receiver - Philips, returning kicks. Thus must end now.
-Lemelle seems to be afraid to touch the ball. Maybe he should take Philips' place on kick off returns where he can take some licks - get the jitters out.
-What can you say about Mack trying to return that missed field goal. Brain Freeze.

 

[huskymedic]

Had both interceptions...

DMartinCSN 4:28pm via web
Dexter McDougle has played his last down in a Maryland uniform after a shoulder injury Saturday. Details here: Post original url/1gk2nmH #Terps

 

[weyuo]

The Huskies seem to start out with both barrels blazing through the first quarter and then the intensity drops off as the game progresses. If you can shut down the run and put pressure on the QB in the first quarter why not change up the blitz packages BEFORE the opposition adjusts to it? I'm not sure if it's fatigue or difference in talent level but too many times I saw Maryland players in the grasp of UConn defenders only to break away and tack on 5+ yards to the play. As awful as the offense was UConn still could have pulled that one out if they contained and tackled better.

As far as the offense goes I saw Delorenzo and McCombs both go down too easily on running plays. They weren't able to fight through arm tackles. I did love seeing the O-line push McCombs into the end zone for their first score. Like others have mentioned once Friend came up lame and had to be used sparingly the line seemed to lose what ever mojo it had going to start the game. Hemingway struggled again and I'm wondering if he is too small for that position in the first place. The thing that bothered me the most was the offense spending so much time looking at the side lines instead of keeping Maryland's defense on their heels. Who is Weist calling the plays down to? Maybe that's where the problem is, the transition from the booth to the guys signalling the QB. UConn did score 21 but what an anemic 21 it was.

Special teams I saw 2 just awful punts early in the game that if placed correctly could have kept the pressure on Maryland and limited their offensive options when pinned inside their own 20. A couple other times I saw good punts that should have been downed inside the 5 that were not so there is 4 times right there where special teams let Maryland off the hook.

Bottom line they scored more than they did against Towson, gave up less points than they did against Towson while playing a better team than Towson so a work in progress...but pretty damn slow progress. Lets pray that Phillips & Friend are ready to rock next weekend, the coaches figure out how to get the plays in faster and the fans don't bail on the team after only the second game. There are still 10 more to play so I'm not calling for P's head till they are mathematically out of contention for a bowl bid.